Officials say oil spill in Des Plaines River cleaned up

February 11, 2009

An oil spill that contaminated about a 9-mile stretch of the Des Plaines River has been cleaned up and does not appear to have harmed wildlife, officials said Wednesday.

"There did not seem to be an immediate harm to birds or fish," said Edward Karecki, environmental contaminant specialist for the Barrington office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "There's nothing that we can see right now. (But) all in all, it degrades water quality to have that stuff going into the river."

On Sunday, about 65,000 gallons of oil sludge overflowed from a holding tank after a pump failed at the Caterpillar manufacturing plant in Rockdale, near Joliet. About 6,000 gallons of the oil sludge flowed about 100 feet down an embankment to the Des Plaines River--an industrial waterway that was closed briefly during clean-up.

High-powered vacuums sucked the oil sludge out of the river and 3-4 inches of soil was removed where the leak spilled.

Investigators from several state and federal environmental agencies have been assessing wildlife and water quality throughout the week, checking for dead fish or oil-covered birds. None were found, officials said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will conduct an investigation to determine whether Caterpillar will face fines or penalties for the leak, said Jim Mitchell, an on-scene coordinator for the EPA.

"I can't say unequivocally that there has been no impact," Mitchell said.

He said he was not aware of a similar incident occurring in the past at the Caterpillar plant.

A Caterpillar spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.

Karecki said the effects of an oil spill are not always immediate or obvious. He said an oil-covered bird could have flown away and died elsewhere. Or animal life at the bottom of the river could have been killed and stuck in the sediment.

Eric Schenck, regional biologist for Ducks Unlimited, a conservation group, said fortunately many birds have migrated for the winter and won't return for another few weeks.